The Commentary of Al-Qasṭallānī on “Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim” and Its Manuscripts:An Analytical Descriptive Study

Abstract

Abstract

This research aims to collect the extant manuscripts of al-Qasṭallānī’s commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ Imam Muslim, to identify their locations, and to describe the manuscripts that have been located. It also traces what has been written about this commentary in biographical works and other sources, compares this information with the manuscripts that are currently available, and presents a concise overview of the most important features of the commentator’s methodology in this work.

Main Findings and Recommendations:
Manuscript libraries preserve several surviving portions of this commentary, namely five separate fragments, including a Moroccan manuscript consisting of three parts, making a total of seven volumes. Three of these fragments were examined: one written in al-Qasṭallānī’s own hand, another attributed in manuscript catalogues to an unknown author but identified as part of this commentary, and a third fragment. These manuscripts contain 955 folios and include commentary on 1,035 hadiths, while the number of hadiths whose commentary is missing does not exceed 270.

The available portion of the commentary begins with the introduction to Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and continues until the end of the Book of Hajj, with several gaps in between. This corresponds to what has been mentioned in the historical sources that al-Qasṭallānī wrote commentary on approximately half of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.

The commentary appears under different titles in the manuscripts and sources. In one manuscript it is entitled al-Badr al-Mu‘allim, while in other sources it is referred to as Minhāj al-Ibtihāj and Minhāj al-Dībāj. It has not been possible to determine which of these titles is the most accurate.

This commentary is of great scholarly importance due to several factors, including the scholarly status of the commentator, his prominent position among the scholars who wrote commentaries on the Prophetic Sunnah, and the fact that the commentary follows the blended (mazjī) style. To the best of my knowledge, there is no printed commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that follows this style. It is also significant that al-Qasṭallānī began writing this commentary immediately after completing his commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.

The study recommends giving priority to producing a critical scholarly edition of this commentary and publishing it in a manner appropriate to its academic value. It also recommends conducting further academic studies on the isnād and matn issues discussed by al-Qasṭallānī in this work. Moreover, researchers are encouraged to re-examine manuscripts attributed in catalogues to unknown authors, as they may contain important works of Islamic heritage